'NBA 2K18': 10 Best New Additions To MyGM And MyLeague

For the past three years, the franchise mode concepts have been the best part of the NBA 2K experience. That's a huge deal because the overall NBA 2K product has been so good. This year it appears the cream of the crop is going to get even better.

Doc Rivers in MyGM

Credit: 2K Sports

For NBA 2K18, Erick Boenisch and his talented team have created an entirely different experience and it looks as if they have successfully added another layer to an already deep game. I broke down every new feature coming to MyGM and MyLeague. Now let's look at the 10 best new additions to the modes.

MyGM: Next Chapter

In previous years, MyGM and MyLeague have been too similar. MyGM was designed to be a traditional franchise mode that allowed you to guide your organization to success on the court while balancing financial requirements and team chemistry.

MyLeague has been called "the ultimate sandbox mode," and it was just that. The mode has allowed an unprecedented level of customization with all of the on-court action and player personnel duties.

Joel Embiid in NBA 2K18

Credit: 2K Sports

The two modes were too similar and MyGM lacked the customization and overall control. It wound up being a more restricted version of MyLeague. Those days are over. The Next Chapter delivers some much-needed personality to MyGM in the form of a story mode.

Thankfully, it's not going to be a narrative that forces every user into the same issues and drama. Per the developer's blog provided to me, we will control our own fate with the decisions we make with our organizations. It doesn't appear as though the cutscenes in The Next Chapter will have any voice, but this is still another mode set to captivate the imagination and attention of the 2K community.

This will be the first time in the history of sports video games that we've seen the combination of a story mode with the franchise concept.

The G-League

I've been asking for the G-League (formerly known as the D-League) for awhile. It's finally here.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to actually play the G-League games. However, you can still send players down and call them up to fill roster spots, or permanently sign them after they have developed.

The G-League rosters will be made up primarily of players who have gone undrafted. That's great because, in previous versions, undrafted rookies simply disappeared from the game.

Two-Way Contracts

Summer League was a major draw for the NBA community, thanks to LaVar and Lonzo Ball and a few other rookies. While fans honed in on hoops in July, we heard a lot of talk about two-way contracts. The new contract type allows an NBA team to sign a player to a deal that enables them to move back and forth between the NBA squad and the G-League affiliate.

All of the real-life parameters are in place and this is just another detail that helps to deliver authenticity to the MyLeague and MyGM experience.

Draft and Stash

This feature sounds incredibly cool and well done. As is the case in real life, you will have to consider how many years your team will have to wait on a buyout for a talented international player before drafting them. After drafting them you can monitor their development and bring them over once their current contract is done.

This is just another tool that makes the NBA 2K off-season the best in all sports video games.

The Analytics Tool

Analytics chart in NBA 2K18

Credit: 2K Sports

If I had to rank the new features, I'd probably put the new analytics tool at the top of my list. When you consider what this feature does, it's perhaps the most impressive addition any franchise mode has ever seen.

You're able to create in-game lists and charts based on a variety of statistics and metrics. We're talking raw stats, per 36 minutes and even per 100 possessions numbers. You can change the splits to show only home and away games, or even sort by the current or last season or career stats.

What's most impressive is that you're able to do all of this with real-life statistics as well, not just your video game-generated numbers. For example, say you use the game's Start Today feature that allows you to begin a MyLeague at any point during the real NBA season with authentic statistics, injury situations, etc.

You'll be able to use the analytics tool to create the aforementioned charts and graphs based on real-life data. That's never been done before.

Alternate Unis for Created or Rebranded Teams

One of my pet peeves within MyLeague in NBA 2K17 was the inability to make an alternate uniform for my rebranded or expansion team. This year, you will be able to make alternate unis as well as saving current home and away jerseys as throwbacks. It's a small thing, but sweet nonetheless.

All-Star Location Selection Process

The location of the All-Star Game is a big deal in real life and it appears 2K is going to make it that way in NBA 2K18 as well. There will be a system in place to select the location in each year of your MyGM and MyLeague.

Once the location is determined, you will see some sort of cutscene or presentation in the game.

Team Customization in MyLeague Online

Anyone who plays MyLeague Online wants it to mirror the offline version. We're moving in that direction as now team customization and rebranding will be available in MyLeague Online.

Player Creation in MyLeague

If the analytics tool is No. 1, this feature is No. 2 on my list. The ability to add a created player to your MyLeague at any time is a great feature and it helps to add variety to a mode that is already stacked with options.

New CBA Rules

There are many new rules in the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement and 2K has done a great job implementing the most important changes like super-max extensions, overall salary increases and new roster minimums.